European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan and Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health Gregory Ko signed an agreement on Tuesday 1 November, during the commissioner’s visit to the autonomous territory, on measures to simplify certification requirements for Hong Kong imports of meat from the EU.
Under the agreement, instead of insisting that meat must come from animals that were born, raised and slaughtered in the exporting member state, Hong Kong is now prepared to accept that animals may come from any member state that is eligible to export to Hong Kong.
The agreement is a result of lengthy preparatory work conducted by the teams of Commissioners Hogan, Cecilia Malmström (Trade) and Vytenis Andriukaitis (Health and Food Safety), the Commission says in a press release.
“I am delighted that we have been able to resolve this long-standing trade impediment and that Hong Kong has found a way to recognise the effectiveness of traceability within the EU. We remain committed to Hong Kong as an important trade and investment partner for the EU and are interested in cooperating more closely with Hong Kong as a hub for China mainland’s market”, Hogan stated.
With annual export volumes amounting to roughly €4 billion, Hong Kong is a particularly important market for EU agri-food trade – the 7th largest export destination in 2015, accounting for 3.5% of all EU agri-food exports around the world. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)